Ethnobotany and Conservation in West Africa

Africa is the second largest continent and has the second largest rainforest block. Africa has diverse plant resources and indigenous communities that still rely largely on plants for their livelihood. This episode discusses uses and management of plant resources in West Africa in three parts: First, are presented the distribution of ecological variation and human population density in Africa. People populate mostly the savannah region of the continent, leaving the vast infertile desert and the harsh rainforest regions less populated. Increasing population density and its concentration in the savannah areas is, among other reasons, responsible for high forest degradation rates and high plant harvesting impact in Sub-Saharan Africa. Second, the different indigenous uses of plant resources are reviewed: food, medicine and cosmetic, fodder, firewood and charcoal, building and timber. There is a severe firewood crisis in the region and harvesting non-timber forest products such as tree fodder, tree bark for medicine, is participating to the degradation of the forest. Third is an analysis of indigenous as well as government management strategies of forest and forest resources. Sacred forests and agroforestry parklands are some of the traditional ways of conserving plant species of local interest. The state management strategy has shift from an official protectionism of the state reserve forest, to a more participatory approach, although the level of implication of indigenous people has varied over the years.

Production Credits

Presented by:

Orou Gaoue

Themes and Content by:

Isabella Abbott

Al Keali'i Chock

Will McClatchey

Mylien T. Nguyen

Tamara Ticktin

David Webb

Special Presentations and Content by:

Tony A.B. Cunningham

Catherine Davenport

Orou Gaoue

Lisa X. Gollin

Y. Han Lau

Spencer Leinweber

Mark Merlin

Levon ‘ohai

Joseph Ostraff

Melinda Ostraff

Orlo Steele

Clay Trauernicht

Art Whistler

Namaka Whitehead

Kawika Winter

Post Production Critique by:

Al Keali'i Chock

Momi Kamahele

Kiope Raymond

Botany 105 Students (Fall 2005)

Camera Work by:

David Reedy

David Strauch

Michael B. Thomas

Video and Sound Editing by:

Markus Faigle

David Reedy

David Strauch

Michael B. Thomas

Audio Production by:

Will McClatchey

David Reedy

Consulting by:

Edo Biagoni

Kim Bridges

Pauline Chinn

Valerie McClatchey

Hae Okimoto

Nelda Quinsell

Ingelia White

Funding provided by:

University of Hawai'i, Department of Botany

University of Hawai'i, Information Technology Services

University of Hawai'i, College of Natural Sciences

University of Hawai'i, Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs